Hamm Approved For Civilian Review Board On Second Try

Local journalist filmmaker Steve Hamm earned an almost-unanimous confirmation vote from the Board of Alders for his appointment to the Civilian Review Board — marking a 180-degree spin from the unanimous rejection he received from the board for that very same position just three months ago.

Alders took that vote Monday night during the most recent meeting of the full board in the Aldermanic Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.

The vote represented the second time since August that alders have weighed in on whether or not Hamm — a former New Haven Register reporter and current documentary filmmaker who lives in Wooster Square — is a good fit for the newly created police accountability board.

Unlike this summer, when all of the alders then present voted against Hamm’s appointment, 22 out of the 23 local legislators in the room on Monday voted in support. Westville Alder Adam Marchand cast the lone dissenting vote in opposition.

Largely gone on Monday were alders’ previous concerns about the online dueling that Hamm and police-accountability activists engaged in — including in the the New Haven Independent — about whether or not Hamm is too ​“moderate,” too sympathetic to law enforcement, too out of touch with the structural racism and prejudices that black and brown people face when dealing with police.

Instead, five alders even spoke up on the floor about how \Hamm’s experience as a journalist, his skills at uncovering and analyzing facts, and his passion for and dedication to the truth, all make him a commendable selection for the CRB.

“After voting down Steve Hamm’s appointment” in August, Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter said, ​“I heard from concerned residents who, like Emma Jones, worried that a lack of diversity of skills and experiences on the board would weaken its effectiveness and weaken public confidence in the board. I share that concern.” Emma Jones has been the leading proponent in town for a strengthened civilian review board for 20 years.

At the same time, Winter said, he believes that all members of the board should understand the ​“structural racial issues inherent to policing in America.”

After meeting with Hamm and listening to his second round of testimony before the Aldermanic Affairs Committee, he said, ​“I believe he will bring energy and dedication to the board, both in impartially judging individual cases and in proposing policies to address systemic failures.”

Downtown Alder Abby Roth agreed. She too met with Hamm in between his first and second appointments to the CRB by Mayor Toni Harp.

“Our conversation made it very clear to me that he deeply values fact-finding,” Roth said, ​“and he views this as the key to determining the truth about a situation and leading to a just outcome.”

Fair Haven Alder Ernie Santiago said that he hadn’t been able to attend Hamm’s first committee confirmation hearing, but did sit in on the second. ​“After I heard Mr. Hamm speak, I believe he’s a good fit for the CRB,” he said.

Hill Alder Evelyn Rodriguez, who chairs the Aldermanic Affairs Committee, also urged her colleagues to support Hamm the second time through. ​“Both times Mr. Hamm has been appointed, he has spoken passionately before the Aldermanic Affairs Committee about his qualifications and about his desires to serve the City of New Haven by representing his policing district on the CRB.”

East Rock Alder Anna Festa also took the mic to throw her support behind Hamm. ​“He is highly competent,” she said, ​“and will bring a fair perspective to the board.”

After the vote, Marchand told the Independent that he decided to vote against Hamm’s appointment not out of any concern with his professional skills or credentials. Rather, he said, ​“I remained not 100 percent convinced of his ability to empathize and be self-aware about his own privilege.”

Hamm has clearly demonstrated his commitment to and interest in serving on a volunteer board like the CRB, Marchand said, as evidenced by his going through the nomination process not once, but twice, and facing criticism from police-accountability activists both times around.

But when he read about Hamm’s testimony and talked to his fellow alders, Marchand said, ​“something in my heart told me there’s a blind spot there.”

After the vote, Hamm said that the last few months have reminded him just how important it is to balance the passion one feels for deeply-held principles and the necessity of approaching disputes with both calm and honesty.

“We all have to learn when to be confrontational and when to be conversational,” he said.

Hamm is now the seventh mayoral appointee to be confirmed by the alders to serve on the nascent CRB. Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers said that the mayor still needs to appoint and the alders still need to confirm a representative from the Hill’s policing district. The alders then need to appoint two at-large members and hire a CRB staffer before the board can officially come into being.